Orbital coiler

ABSTRACT

A coiler for coiling metal rod and similar strand material to form a coil and which includes a turntable rotatable about its center and a flyer tube rotatable above the turntable about an axis of rotation displaced from the axis of rotation of the turntable. The receiving end of the flyer tube is positioned in its axis of rotation and the flyer tube curves to terminate at a discharge end which moves in a circular path about its axis of rotation and which is oriented so that metal rod being discharged from the discharge end of the flyer tube is in a continuous series of loops having their centers substantially coinciding with the axis of rotation of the flyer tube. Metal rod to be coiled is fed into the receiving end of the flyer tube and as the metal rod is discharged from the discharge end of the flyer tube as a continuous series of loops, the loops drop to the surface of the turntable. The rotation of the turntable places the loops in succession on the turntable with their centers in a circular path having the axis of rotation of the turntable as its center, and the relationship between the diameter of the loops and the distance by which the axis of rotation of the flyer tube is displaced from the axis of rotation of the turntable is such that each loop includes within its circumference the axis of rotation of the turntable which becomes the centerline of the coil formed by the loops.

United States Patent Cofer et al.

[54] ORBITAL COILER [72] Inventors: Daniel B. Coter, Carrollton, 0a.;

Thomas L. Bray, Birmingham, Ala. [73] Assignee: Southwire Company,Carrollton,

[22] Filed: April 7, 1971 [21] App1.No.: 132,235

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation of Ser. No. 809,875,March 24,

1969, abandoned.

[52] US. Cl ..242/82, 242/83 [51] lnt.Cl ..B21c 47/14 [58] Field ofSearch ..242/8284 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 334,4531/1886 Morgan ..242/82 X 3,042,336 7/1962 Krafft et a1. ..242/833,120,931 2/1964 Lorenz ..242/83 3,128,961 4/1964 Wickwire ..242/823,599,891 8/1971 Stone ..242/82 Primary ExaminerGeorge F. MautzAssistant ExaminerMilton Gerstein Attorney-Van C. Wilks and Herbert M.Hanegan [57] ABSTRACT A coiler for coiling metal rod and similar strandmaterial to form a coil and which includes a turntable rotatable aboutits center and a flyer tube rotatable above the turntable about an axisof rotation displaced from the axis of rotation of the turntable. Thereceiving end of the flyer tube is positioned in its axis of rotationand the flyer tube curves to terminate at a discharge end which moves ina circular path about its axis of rotation and which is oriented so thatmetal rod being discharged from the discharge end of the flyer tube isin a continuous series of loops having their centers substantiallycoinciding with the axis of rotation of the flyer tube. Metal rod to becoiled is fed into the receiving end of the flyer tube and as the metalrod is discharged from the discharge end of the flyer tube as acontinuous series of loops, the loops drop to the surface of theturntable. The rotation of the turntable places the loops in successionon the tumtable with their centers in a circular path having the axis ofrotation of the turntable as its center, and the relationship betweenthe diameter of the loops and the distance by which the axis of rotationof the flyer tube is displaced from the axis of rotation of theturntable is such that each loop includes within its circumference theaxis of rotation of the turntable which becomes the centerline of thecoil formed by the loops.

8 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTED luv 2 1 I972 SHEET 1 BF 4 m MR m MTHOMAS L. BRAY 000L444 ATTORNEYS P'A'TENTED nnv 21 1922 SHEET 2 BF 4INVENTORS DANIEL B. COFER THOMAS L. BRAY ATTORNEYS PATENTED W 3,703,261SHEET u [If 4 FIG. 9

ORBITAL COILER This application is a continuation of application Ser.No. 809,875, filed Mar. 24, 1969, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Coilers for coiling wire, metal rod andother strand material have been developed which include a rotating drumor deadblock on which the strand material is rolled and from which loopsof the strand material are progressively pushed by the addition of newstrand material to the rotating deadblock. The loops of strand materialare stem packed or placed on a platform or turntable with the centers ofthe loops coinciding, or the loops are distributed about the surface ofa platform or turntable by moving the platform with respect to thestrand material in order to space or off set the loops from one another.

A number of difficulties are encountered in coiling metal rod with priorart coilers having some or all of the general characteristics describedabove. For example, with those prior art coilers in which the strandmaterial is rolled onto a rotating drum or deadblock, it is difficult ifnot impossible to coil metal rod which is initially and continuouslydischarged from a rolling mill since it is difficult to place theinitial loop of a rapidly moving metal rod in position on a rotatingdrum or deadblock.

With those prior art coilers in which the loops of strand material arestem packed upon a platform or turntable with the centers of the loopscoinciding, the loops in a coil or package of metal rod frequentlybecome entangled. This makes the metal rod difficult to feed from thecoil or package to a wire drawing machine or similar apparatus forfurther processing.

With those prior art coilers which attempt to avoid entanglement of therod by distributing the loops of rod over the surface of a platform orturntable by moving the platform or turntable so as to provide a coil orpackage of metal rod in which the loops do not become easily entangled,the mechanism necessary to impart the movement to the platform orturntable makes the coiler expensive and difficult to maintain. Thisexpense is particularly significant when a coiler is used to form a coilof metal rod having great weight because of the power required to impartmotion to a platform or turntable on which a coil of great weight ispositioned.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention comprises a coiler capable ofreceiving metal rod as it is initially and continuously discharged froma rolling mill or the like and coiling the rod into a coil in which theloops are positioned so that the rod can be conveniently and easily fedfrom the coil or package to a wire drawing machine or the like forfurther processing. The coiler does not require the step of attaching aninitial loop of metal rod to a rotating drum or deadblock or impartingan oscillatory motion to a platform or turntable on which a relativelyheavy coil is positioned.

These features are provided by the use of a turntable which rotatesabout a fixed axis of rotation and a flyer tube which rotates above theturntable about a substantially fixed axis of rotation that is displacedfrom the axis of rotation of the turntable. The flyer tube extends froma receiving end positioned in the axis of rotation of the flyer tube,and curves to a discharge end which moves in a circle about the axis ofrotation of the flyer tube and which is oriented so that metal rodpassing into the receiving end and from the discharge end of the flyertube is formed into loops that drop to the surface of the rotatingturntable.

The relationship between the diameter of the loops formed by therotating flyer tube and the displacement of the axis of rotation of theflyer tube relative to the axis of rotation of the turntable is suchthat each loop formed by the coiler includes within its circumferencethe axis of rotation of the turntable which becomes the centerline ofthe coil formed by the loops. The displacement of successive loopsrelative to each other in a circular path around the turntable is afunction of the rotational speed of the turntable relative to the linearspeed of the metal rod as it passes through the flyer tube, and thediameter of each loop may be varied by varying the angular speed of thedischarge end of the flyer tube relative to the linear speed of themetal rod as it passes through the flyer tube.

The metal rod to be coiled by the coiler disclosed herein is easily fedinto the receiving end of the flyer tube and the difficulty encounteredwith most prior art coilers in forming the initial loop is avoided.Thus, the coiler is ideally suited for coiling a metal rod as it passesinitially and continuously from a rolling mill. Since the coilerrequires only the rotation of the flyer tube and of the turntable thecoiler avoids the mechanism necessary with prior art coilers whichimpart an oscillatory motion to a platform or turntable. Thus, thecoiler is relatively inexpensive and easy to maintain.

The metal rod is conveniently and easily fed from the coil formed by thecoiler because the loops of the metal rod are distributed about thecenterline of the coil in a pattern in which adjacent loops areoverlapping rather than concentric with each other and whichsubstantially prevents the loops from becoming entangled with eachother. Moreover, the coiler includes an accumulating means forselectively accumulating loops so that the removing of a completed coiland the starting of a new coil is conveniently and easily accomplishedeven though the coiler continues to operate.

These and other features and advantages of the invention will be moreclearly understood from the following detailed description and theaccompanying drawing in which like characters of reference designatecorresponding parts throughout and in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of anembodiment of the invention disclosed herein:

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the driving means for theflyer tube in that embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged elevational view of the driving means for theturntable in that embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the turntable in that embodiment of theinvention shown in FIG. 1 showing the positioning of a plurality ofloops upon the surface of the turntable;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a coil of metal rod formed by thatembodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the accumulating means in that embodimentof the invention shown in FIG. 1; and,

I DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The following detaileddescription and theaccompanying drawing disclose an embodiment of theinvention. However, it should be understood that the invention may beembodied in other equivalent forms without departing from the inventiveconcept.

As is shown in FIG. 1, the invention disclosed herein isa coiler forcoiling metal rod 15 as it passes continuously from a rolling mill R upan incline through tube T r= P sin (/2), and

z=hsin (0/2), where, r radius of flyer tube curvature, P desired radiusof a coil, 9 the angle about the vertical centerline of the flyer tubethrough which the flyer tube exand pinch rolls P. The coiler includes aturntable 10 rotatable in a substantially horizontal plane of motionabout a substantially vertical axis of rotation 11 and a flyer tube 12rotatable above the turntable 10 about a substantially vertical axis ofrotation 14 which is displaced from the axis of rotation 11 of theturntable 10. Frame 16 supports the various elements and upper drivingmeans 17 rotates the flyer tube 12 about its axis of rotation 14, andlower driving means 18 rotates the turntable 10 about its axis ofrotation 11.

As is shown in FIG. 2, upper driving means 17 includes a generallycylindrical stationary member 19 which is welded or otherwise attached aflange member 20. The flange member 20 is welded or otherwiseattached-to a pair of spaced frame members 21 and 22 (FIG. 1) so thatthe stationary member 19 ismounted on the frame 16 with its centerlinesubstantially vertically oriented. Inner cylinder assembly -is rotatablypositioned within the stationary member 19 by upper thrust bearings 23and lower thrust bearings 24. The centerline of the inner cylinderassembly 25 coincides with the centerline of the stationary member 19and the inner cylinder assembly 25 extends upwardly above the stationarymember 19 through a cover 26 to provide a hub 27. The cover 26 isattached to the stationary member 19 by a plurality of bolts 28 andserves to i retain theinner cylinder assembly 25 within the stationarymember 29 Mounted on the hub 27 is a sprocket wheel 29 and when thesprocket wheel 29. is driven by a chain 30 (FIG. 1) from a sprocketwheel 31 driven through a reducing gear 32 by a motor 33, the innercylinder assembly 25 rotates within the stationary member 19. Fixedlypositioned within the inner cylinder assembly 25 is the receiving end 34of the flyer tube 12. Thus, the centerlineof the inner cylinder assembly25 is the axis of rotation 14 of the flyer tube 12.

The flyer tube 12 extends downwardly through a cylindrical cavity 35 anda conical cavity 36 and into a driving cylinder 37 attached by bolts 38to a flange 39 formed at the lower end of the inner cylinder assembly25. Below the inner cylinder assembly 25, the flyer tube 12 extendsthrough an aperture 40 in the driving cylinder 37 and curves gently asshown in FIG. 1 to terminate in a discharge end 41.

The flyer tube is formed in a curvature which corresponds to the surfaceof an inverse parabollic spiral so the rod passing through the flyertube will undergo a gradual and uniform change in direction fromvertical movement to substantially horizontal movement, with a minimumof surface friction. The configuration of flyer tube 12 was calculatedfrom the following equations:

tends, z the vertical centerline of the flyer tube, and h desired heightof a flyer tube. v

As shown in FIG. 1, the end portion 42 of the flyer tube 12 adjacent itsdischarge end 41 is oriented so that it extends substantiallyin ahorizontal plane and so that the center of its radius of curvaturegenerally coincides with the axis of rotation 14 of the flyer tube 12.It will 'now be understood that the first driving means 17 serves torotate the flyer tube 12 about the axis of rotation 14 of the flyer tube12 with the receiving end 34 of the flyer tube 12 in the axis ofrotation 14 and the discharge end 14 moving in a circle about the axisof rotation 14. r

Turntable 10 is mounted on the frame 16 for rotation about its axis ofrotation 11 and as is shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, lower driving means 18 forrotating the turntable about its axis of rotation 11 is positioned belowtumtable 10. From FIG. 3, it will be seen that lower driving meansincludes motor 44 which drives sprocket wheel 45 through reducing gear46. Mounted on sprocket wheel 45 is chain 47 which extends from sprocketwheel 45 to sprocket wheel or tire ,48 mounted upon shaft 49 forrotation about a substantially vertical axis of rotation. Mounted at theupper end of shaft 49 is a friction wheel 50. Friction wheel 50 ispositioned, by the shaft 49 in the plane of turntable 10 so that thecircum fcrential surface of wheel 50 engages a circumferential face 51of the turntable 10. Lower drivingr'neans' 18 also includes an idlersprocket wheel 52 for maintain ing tension in the chain 47. a

OPERATION I and into a conical recess 55 formed in the upper end of athe inner cylinder assembly 25. As the metal rod 15 passes from the feedtube 54 into the conical recess 55,

it passes downwardly into the receiving end 34 of the flyer tube 12.

As the metal rod 15 passes through the flyer tube 12, its direction ofmovement is gradually changed from a substantially vertical path alongthe axis of rotation of the flyer tube 12 into a substantiallyhorizontal arcuate path corresponding with the circle of motion of thedischarge end 41 of the flyer tube 12 about the axis of rotation 14 ofthe flyer tube 12. Thus, as the flyer tube 12 rotates about its axis ofrotation 14, the metal rod 15 is formed into a continuous series ofloops 56.

As the loops 56 are formed by the rotation of the flyer tube 12, theloops fall to the surface of turntable 10. Since turntable 10 is beingrotated by lower driving means 18, the center of each successive loop 56is displaced from the center of the preceding loop 56 along a circularpath 58 having the axis of rotation 11 of turntable 10 as its center.This is best shown in FIG. 4, and from FIG. 4 it will also be seen thatloops 56 overlap and that each loop 56 has a diameter which is such thateach loop 56 encloses within its circumference the axis of rotation 11of turntable 10. The radius of the circular path of the discharge end ofthe flyer tube is greater than the displacement of the axis of rotationof the turn table from the axis of rotation of the flyer tube. Thus, ina coil 59 (FIG. 5) formed by the coiler there is a hollow cylindricalcenter zone 60. Moreover, the overlapping pattern of the loops 56 in acoil 59 is such that the loops do not become readily entangled so thatthe rod can be conveniently and easily withdrawn from the coil.

Those skilled in the art will understand that the diameter of each loop56 corresponds generally to the diameter of the circle of motion inwhich the discharge end 41 of flyer tube 12 moves. However, the diameterof a loop 56 may be varied by varying the angular speed of the flyertube 12 relative to the linear speed of the metal rod 15 through theflyer tube 12. Thus, by increasing the linear speed of the metal rod 15through flyer tube 12 relative to the angular speed of flyer tube 12,the diameter of each loop 56 may be increased. Conversely, by reducingthe linear speed of the metal rod 15 relative to the angular speed offlyer tube 12, the diameter of each loop 56 may be decreased.

It will also be understood that the distance by which each successiveloop 56 is displaced from the preceding loop 56 is dependent upon therotational speed of turntable relative to the linear speed of the metalrod through flyer tube 12. Thus, by increasing or decreasing the angularspeed of turntable 10 relative to linear speed of the metal rod 15through flyer tube 12, each successive loop 56 is displaced a greater orlesser distance relative to the immediately preceding loop 56.

In addition, it will be understood that a coil 59 is generally formedwithin a basket 61 or on a center stem pack positioned on the turntable10 to facilitate the removal of the coil 59 from the coiler and thatafter removal of a coil 59 from the coiler, straps 62 are generallyplaced about the coil 59 to hold the loops 56 in place until the metalrod 15 in the coil 59 is to be used. To further facilitate the removalof a completed coil 59 from the coiler, the coiler disclosed hereinincludes an accumulating means 63 for accumulating loops 56 while acompleted coil 59 is removed and a basket 61 is placed on the turntable10 to start a new coil 59.

The accumulating means 63 is shown in general in FIG. 1 and in detail inFIGS. 6 and 7. From FIG. 1 it will be seen that the accumulating means63 includes a ring member 64 positioned below the flyer tube 12 butabove the turntable 10 by frame members 65. Mounted on the outermostsurface of ring member 64 within a plurality of bearings 66 is aflexible cable 67. Flexible cable 67 is rotatable about itscircumferential centerline by lever 69 attached to a piston rod 70movable by fluid cylinder 71. Bearings 66 are positioned in pairs aroundthe ring member 64 and retaining means 72 is attached to the flexiblecable 67 between each pair of bearings 66. As shown in FIG. 7, eachretaining means 72 includes a hook 74 and a clamp 75 by which hook 74 isattached to the flexible cable 67.

It will be understood that with motion of piston rod 70, the rotation offlexible cable 67 moves hooks 74 between a retaining position shown insolid line in FIG. 7 and a releasing position shown in dashed line inFIG. 7. It will also be understood that when books 74 are in theretaining position shown in FIG. 7, the accumulating means 63 catchesand accumulates loops 56 of the metal rod 15 and that when hooks 74 arein the releasing position shown in FIG. 7, loops 56 drop through theaccumulating means to turntable 10. Thus, the accumulating means ispositioned relative to the flyer tube 12 so that hooks 74 retain orrelease loops 56 as required for starting or removing a coil 59.

In connection with a coil 59, it will now be understood that theinvention provides a coil the rod of which is conveniently and easilyunwound and fed to a wire drawing machine or other apparatus forsubsequent processing. Moreover, because the coiler is placed inoperation for coiling a metal rod 15 by simply feeding the end of themetal rod into the receiving end 34 of flyer tube 12, the coiler is welladapted to coiling a metal rod which is initially and continuouslydischarged from the rolling mill R or the like.

In addition, since turntable 10 is simply rotated rather than oscillatedor otherwise moved in a complicated pattern of motion, the. coileravoids the difficulty encountered with prior art coilers in providing anoscillatory motion and in moving heavy coils of metal rod. Furthermore,because of the simple motions of both the turntable 10 and of the flyertube 12, the coiler is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and easy tomaintain.

While this invention has been described in detail with particularreference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood thatvariations and modifications can be efiected within the spirit and scopeof the invention as described hereinbefore and as defined in theappended claims.

We claim:

1. A coiler for coiling rod or the like comprising a flyer tubeincluding an approximately upright receiving end and a discharge enddisplaced laterally from said receiving end, wherein said flyer tubeextends in a curved downward and lateral direction from its receivingend to its discharge end, said coiler having an upper driving means forrotating said flyer tube about an axis of rotation approximatelycoextensive with the longitudinal axis of said receiving end and aturntable positioned below said flyer tube, said turntable having alower driving means for rotation about an axis of rotation displacedfrom the axis of rotation of said flyer tube and within the radius oflateral displacement of the discharge end from the receiving end of saidflyer tube, said turntable being rotatable in a substantially horizontalplane of motion about a substantially vertical axis of rotation, saidupper driving means including a generally stationary member having itscenterline substantially vertically oriented and having an innercylinder rotatably positioned therein, with the receiving end of saidflyer tube fixedly positioned within said rotatable inner cylinder withthe centerline of said rotatable inner cylinder coinciding with thecenterline of said stationary member and the axis of rotation of saidflyer tube, said coiler including a driving cylinder having itslongitudinal axis approximately coextensive with the axis of rotation ofsaid flyer tube, with said flyer tube extending through an aperture inthe side portion of said driving cylinder.

2. The coiler of Claim 1 wherein said flyer tube has angularintersecting axes within its driving cylinder and extends through theside portion of said driving cylinder at an oblique angle.

3. The coiler of claim 2 wherein said flyer tube is formed in acurvature which corresponds to the surface of an inverse parabollicspiral.

4. The coiler of claim 2 wherein the end portion of said flyer tubeadjacent said discharge end is curved with the center of its radius ofcurvature generally coinciding with the axis of rotation of said flyertube.

5. The coiler of claim 2 wherein the end portion of said flyer tubeadjacent said discharge end extends approximately in a horizontal plane.

6. The coiler of claim 2 including accumulating means positioned betweensaid flyer tube and said turntable, the axis of said accumulating meansbeing

1. A coiler for coiling rod or the like comprising a flyer tubeincluding an approximately upright receiving end and a discharge enddisplaced laterally from said receiving end, wherein said flyer tubeextends in a curved downward and lateral direction from its receivingend to its discharge end, said coiler having an upper driving means forrotating said flyer tube about an axis of rotation approximatelycoextensive with the longitudinal axis of said receiving end and aturntable positioned below said flyer tube, said turntable having alower driving means for rotation about an axis of rotation displacedfrom the axis of rotation of said flyer tube and within the radius oflateral displacement of the discharge end from the receiving end of saidflyer tube, said turntable being rotatable in a substantially horizontalplane of motion about a substantially vertical axis of rotation, saidupper driving means including a generally stationary member having itscenterline substantially vertically oriented and having an innercylinder rotatably positioned therein, with the receiving end of saidflyer tube fixedly positioned within said rotatable inner cylinder withthe centerline of said rotatable inner cylinder coinciding with thecenterline of said stationary member and the axis of rotation of saidflyer tube, said coiler including a driving cylinder having itslongitudinal axis approximately coextensive with the axis of rotation ofsaid flyer tube, with said flyer tube extending through an aperture inthe side portion of said driving cylinder.
 1. A coiler for coiling rodor the like comprising a flyer tube including an approximately uprightreceiving end and a discharge end displaced laterally from saidreceiving end, wherein said flyer tube extends in a curved downward andlateral direction from its receiving end to its discharge end, saidcoiler having an upper driving means for rotating said flyer tube aboutan axis of rotation approximately coextensive with the longitudinal axisof said receiving end and a turntable positioned below said flyer tube,said turntable having a lower driving means for rotation about an axisof rotation displaced from the axis of rotation of said flyer tube andwithin the radius of lateral displacement of the discharge end from thereceiving end of said flyer tube, said turntable being rotatable in asubstantially horizontal plane of motion about a substantially verticalaxis of rotation, said upper driving means including a generallystationary member having its centerline substantially verticallyoriented and having an inner cylinder rotatably positioned therein, withthe receiving end of said flyer tube fixedly positioned within saidrotatable inner cylinder with the centerline of said rotatable innercylinder coinciding with the centerline of said stationary member andthe axis of rotation of said flyer tube, said coiler including a drivingcylinder having its longitudinal axis approximately coextensive with theaxis of rotation of said flyer tube, with said flyer tube extendingthrough an aperture in the side portion of said driving cylinder.
 2. Thecoiler of Claim 1 wherein said flyer tube has angular intersecting axeswithin its driving cylinder and extends through the side portion of saiddriving cylinder at an oblique angle.
 3. The coiler of claim 2 whereinsaid flyer tube is formed in a curvature which corresponds to thesurface of an inverse parabollic spiral.
 4. The coiler of claim 2wherein the end portion of said flyer tube adjacent said discharge endis curved with the center of its radius of curvature generallycoinciding with the axis of rotation of said flyer tube.
 5. The coilerof claim 2 wherein the end portion of said flyer tube adjacent saiddischarge end extends approximately in a horizontal plane.
 6. The coilerof claim 2 including accumulating means positioned between said flyertube and said turntable, the axis of said accumulating means beinggenerally in alignment with the axis of rotation of said flyer tube andoffset from the axis of rotation of said turntable.
 7. The coiler ofclaim 2 including a feed tube comprising a laterally extending portionfor receiving rod or the like and a downwardly extending portion alignedwith the receiving end of said flyer tube for guiding rod or the liketoward said flyer tube.